The Ministry of Ecological Transition congratulates itself on not approving this Thursday the “exorbitant” amendment presented by the People’s Party in the Sustainable Mobility Law, which was not finally approved by Congress on Thursday thanks to Gonz’s abstention.
Sources from Sarah Agsen’s department point out that the amendment “did not change anything fundamental” in the reactor shutdown schedule, but it introduced “noise and uncertainty” and “tried to introduce the idea of some kind of automatic extension of the life of nuclear power plants” while leaving aside “an important body like the CSN,” the Nuclear Safety Board.
The amendment, which was introduced in the Senate by an absolute majority of the Popular Party, was rejected on Thursday with one vote and seven abstentions. It was rejected by 171 votes (from PP, Vox and UPN) and 172 votes against (including PNV and ERC).
The ministry asserts that even if this initiative had gone ahead, nuclear safety “was anyway guaranteed” and “there was not a great deal of substantive interest,” but it congratulates itself for having avoided the “noise and uncertainty” that this initiative would have generated.
The amendment “did not change the nuclear safety rules, but rather the administrative procedures,” and the ministerial orders to renew the operating licenses of the plants, without requiring any kind of report from the Central Committee for Nuclear Security, while these orders “can only be approved by a mandatory and binding report from the Central Committee for Nuclear Security,” highlight the environmental transformation.
The same sources indicate that “today’s closing date for Almaraz is 2027 and 2028” and that the environmental transition will not paralyze the facility closure report that CSN must process in parallel with the extension request requested by Iberdrola, Endesa and Naturgy at the end of October without having to agree to this PP amendment, which was submitted before the electricity companies’ decision.
About The Author
